The Bane Chronicles ~ Cassandra Clare & Maureen Johnson & Sarah Rees Brennan


★★★☆☆

What Really Happened in Peru

★★☆☆☆

Part of this was an actual story. The other part was absurd, unrealistic, and all over the place.
The Runaway Queen

★★★☆☆


Better than the first one, but still ridiculous and unrealistic


Vampires, Scones, and Edmund Herondale


★★★★★


The best so far! I loved Edmund, and Magnus was actually a real person in this, not a ridiculous caricature. The audiobook narrator was excellent as well, so that definitely helped.

The Midnight Heir

★★★☆☆


Better written than most of these are, but lacking a coherent story of any kind

The Rise of the Hotel Dumort

★★★☆☆


Okay by most standards but I'm not impressed

Saving Raphael Santiago

★★★★☆


I wholeheartedly agree with Raphael's analysis of Magnus. He's ridiculous, obnoxious, and annoying.

Also, why is Ragnar's character literally whatever the heck Clare needs for any given story? Like, he literally has no personality, he's just a blank slate to be whatever she wants at the moment; sometimes he's bitter and cynical, sometimes he doesn't understand sarcasm, sometimes he likes cracking jokes. He's literally the worst written character in the world because he isn't even a character, he's a poorly executed plot device.

The Fall of the Hotel Dumort

★★☆☆☆

Well this was just plain stupid. Why are these stories lacking actual characters who act like people?
What to Buy the Shadowhunter Who Has Everything?

★★☆☆☆

I personally find the relationship between a several-centuries-old warlock who has been in countless relationships (and according to these novellas, is incapable of being single) and an 18-year-old boy who has never been in any kind of romantic relationship to be gross and uncomfortable. Especially when said old warlock claims to feel fatherly towards a girl just a little bit younger than the boy he wants to make out with. That's straight up nasty. That's like if Luke suddenly started seducing Alec, but even worse because Luke isn't centuries old and he also hasn't had a million lovers. More like if a slightly more flamboyant Aloysius Starkweather tried to get into Alec's pants.

That said, I loved the demon Elyaas! I want a series of novellas about Elyaas.

The Last Stand of the New York Institute

★★★★☆

Better than most of them, and I liked that we got to see the Circle pre-Uprising.
The Course of True Love [and First Dates]

★★☆☆☆
Alec looked as if he wished only for the sweet release of death.
Honestly, same, after reading these novellas.

I feel like my review of What to Buy the Shadowhunter Who Has Everything made my opinion on this relationship quite clear.

The Voicemail of Magnus Bane

★★☆☆☆

Boring af and entirely unnecessary is all I can say


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